The Reality of the Restaurant Business

Ever since I was really young, I have always had aspirations to someday become a professional chef or to open up my own restaurant.  Food as you know, has surrounded me with countless memories that I look back upon fondly and it seems the ultimate culmination of these memories would be my own kitchen and studio to showcase my works of culinary arts (or failure in some cases :)). As a child, I would often watch my mother toil constantly in the kitchen cooking the most amazing American and Asian meals. My father was never far behind as he often cooked meals for special occasions such as parties, holidays, and family get togethers. I recall my Saturday mornings in front of the television, watching KBYU and KUED (PBS local affiliates) and being in awe of Chefs Martin Yan and Julia Child (she scared me at first with her monstrous stature and indecipherable gibberish. I swear she was the incarnation of the Swedish chef and a stuttering and stammering Goliath). Other cooking experiences included memories of making “homemade” jerky usually ending with over seared ham strips soaked in soy sauce; my version of teriyaki strips. In middle school and high school, I baked religiously, baking up things such as rollo cookies, bread, sugar cookies, NY Cheesecake, Oatmeal Cookies and my favorite, brownies.  I’ve continued this tradition today with cooking specials recipes I’ve kept close to the palate such as my family’s egg roll recipe.

But the dream of  owning my own eating spot or even sandwich shop has alluded me. I would love to have my own restaurant. Or would I? Researching online, I have found that the restaurant business amounts to roughly 500 billion dollars plus in annual sales revenue (click for link), a fair amount that would be nice to be a part of. There are hundreds of thousands of different types of eating establishments across the US that employ almost 13 million people.  Yet the costs and consequences of opening up your own restaurant are infamously perilous.  Start up costs for the service sector can be anywhere from 30k to 100k for most basic places and many restaurants aren’t profitable for a long time.  Costs for running and maintaining a restaurant rests on maintaining of course revenue, but also inventory, salary, permits, and marketing.  It’s no surprise why so many restaurant fail. A close friend of mine who has helped run family businesses overseas was recently interested in opening an Asian fusion restaurant here in Utah. He researched various locations and found that the average rent for places from Fashion Place Mall to the District ran well over $6k plus for rent with the District at $25-$30 a square foot for space (which is tremendously expensive). This didn’t factor in the other costs of insurance, license, taxes, salary, inventory, etc.

But finances aren’t the only peril in restaurants. I have family in Maryland who owned a Chinese/Cambodian restaurant for years. It was profitable but the emotional stress and toll on the family was evident. Working all day long with few days for vacation and being constantly around the same food, smell, and clientele can be draining.  Living and working in a service sector industry demands a large amount of time and can easily take over a person’s family and life.  Those who are successful in franchising and running restaurants can be said to have the right survival personality in the cutthroat industry but at what costs?  Michelin-Star Award wining chef Gordan Ramsey highlighted the perils of owning restaurants in his BBC and respective FOX hit, Kitchen Nightmares, which took struggling restaurants and gave the green light to Cher Ramsey to do a complete overhaul. This was one of my favorite food shows for the conflict that often ensued between owners and Ramsey’s brash, profanity laden diatribe. But quickly, it became apparent that there was so much heartache, stress, and pain with running a restaurant.

This leads me to my actual post – a posthumous post about a spot that seemed very very promising.

My friend, looking saddened knowing this is his first and last meal at Spoony and Nata's

Spoony and Nata’s

spoonyandnatas.com

In the entire time of Peng’s Palate, two restaurants have since closed down. One was Red Rooster which was among the firsts of my posts. The second, surprisingly is a non-published post (yes, I’m still behind) for Spoony and Natas. While technically, they are still offering catering, Spoony and Nata’s restaurant location is currently on hiatus. But this is in no way a result of poor food. In fact Spoony and Nata’s had great food, a very friendly atmosphere led by the cordial owners after whom the restaurant is named. So it’s with some sadness that I submit this review, somewhat with the realization of how fickle the restaurant business can be.  I don’t know the exact details and background as to why  Spoony and Nata’s are only caterers at this posting. They offered a unique niche food – southern N’Orleans style and weren’t all that expensive.  They had  great marketing (well, somewhat great considering) via word of mouth advertising and reviews in the local magazines and newspapers but yet they still couldn’t make it.  During my visit,  I overheard the owner speaking with some patrons about the struggles the restaurant has been up until the review in the Deseret News. Luckily, he mentioned that the restaurant was a dream hobby and they did in fact have other occupations.

So onto the food

During the visit, our options were limited because we arrived later in the day so we kept it simple: Chicken Wings, Fried Catfish and pie.

Now I know this collection of fried foods ignores the jambalaya and gumbo, but the catfish was their specialty of the day and they were out of Jambalaya.  The Chicken Wings were whole pieces and not cut portions like you would find at WingCoop, KFC or WingNutz. I prefer a full wing because you get the whole slab rather than precut portions, though I know some people tend to prefer not having the wing tips on. They were seasoned moderately and were tasty albeit noting complicated (you can only do so much to wings). I must acknowledge that I could easily and often do fry up chicken wings with similar taste and ease.

The lighting was off but these wings weren't!

The Catfish really impressed me. I’ve had Catfish at Q4U and some other franchise spots across the valley but they often end up overly dry and small. The portion for this occasion was ample and the catfish had a good flaky and moist bite to it. It was the best restaurant breaded Catfish fillet I’ve had in Utah.  We had pie to end our meal but not being a pie person I’ll pass on my memories since pumpkin pie and pies similar to it make me cringe.

Gluttony? No. A full entree for myself and a side of wings.

I guess the only drawback to Spoony and Nata’s is that aside from the Jambalaya (of which I didn’t get to try) most of the food is what you would find at someone’s home or one you could easily make but that’s the allure of comfort food. I enjoyed my meal, liked the small feel of the restaurant (it was previously Pho Tay Ho, my favorite Pho spot, which moved down the block, and contrary to what the owner stated to the patrons who asked, It isn’t a Thai restaurant. It’s Vietnamese. Please get your Asian cuisine right and careful of some of the remarks you make about the prior tenants). Anyhow, I must conclude by saying I hate seeing any restaurant close. I had hope for Spoony and Nata’s and for all small businesses trying to make it in the competitive service industry.  I hope these are the only two spots which I post that close. There is another close to closure I believe and for their sake and dreams I pray that they make the necessary improvements to stay afloat.  I know the sacrifice and dreams that are lost when a local eating establishment is closed. Aside from the obvious economic sadness that comes with closure is also the closing of a dream that I myself can relate to. If Spoony and Nata ever read this blog, please know I appreciated the effort and sincerity you put into my one and only visit.  I hope private catering goes well and that you continue to share your recipes and food and most importantly the stories behind them!

Posting at night is hard when you're hungry and see tasty pictures of Catfish!

My, my, it's American pie...